The Sealed File
by killbethy
Summary: SPR's sealed file is discovered by two children, a file all of SPR wished to forget. Travel back in time to relive the events of SPR's most notorious, disasterous case. No announced pairings, they will be revealed as the story progresses. Please review!
1. Prologue: Part One

**Author's Note: **There will be two parts in the prologue, which takes place some time in the future. I decided it would be better to break it up, even though it makes the individual chapter short. Sorry! Once the main story starts, which will be written as a normal file of SPR, the chapters will be full-length (probably around 3000 - 4000 words or so). The prologue is a bit confusing and is intended to be that way, so let your imaginations run wild!

Also, for those that don't know, "Onee-chan" or "Nee-chan" are ways of referring to your older sister in Japanese. I don't like mixing in languages when I write, but I thought "Big Sis" sounded cheesy, so the only other Japanese that will come in are the common suffixes like -san, -chan, -bou, etc.

**Disclaimer: Unfortuantely, I don't own Ghost Hunt. I asked for the rights, but it was too expensive. :( hehe**

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The Sealed File

Prologue: Part One

A cold draft drifted through the wooden floor planks of the old Victorian home. A young girl of fifteen with long raven hair, braided to the side for sleep, reached up and grabbed another thick blanket from the foot of her bed. She tossed and turned trying to find a comfortable position to fall back into slumber. She had been stuck in England for over two weeks now, and, even though England was her part-time home, she much preferred the livelihood and more tolerable weather of Japan. England always seemed so cold. Day after day would pass and not even the slightest peak of sunshine would slip through the overcast skies. To make it even worse, she wasn't even staying in her own home, as her parents were back in Japan working on yet another one of their paranormal investigations. Her parents often promised her that once she became old enough, they would allow her to participate. The thought of when that would actually be constantly nagged at her mind. She houghed and punched at her pillow, half attempting to fluff it and half relieving her frustration.

"Onee-chan?" A soft voice entered her left ear. She rolled over, peering into her younger brother's bright blue eyes. They were almost the same shade as her own, but hers were a bit darker, a bit cloudier than the twinkling sapphire orbs of the little boy.

"What is it, Genie?" She smiled at him. She couldn't remember when she had started calling her brother Genie. Her parents usually referred to him as Gene, short for Eugene. "Are you cold?" She inquired. She always felt like she needed to be protective of her brother, although she didn't quite know the reason she felt this way. He was just so kind-spirited, and even though he was five years younger than herself and already taller than her, something about him felt very fragile. "Do you want to come sleep with me?"

He hopped out of bed, and with light footsteps, walked over to the bed with his older sister. She lifted up the covers for him to crawl in, ruffling his chestnut hair as he drew near. "Isn't it a bit too cold to be wearing that during an English winter?" His eyes gazed down to the sleeping kimono the girl was wearing.

She shrugged. "Probably. It's just something I found in the back of mom's closet before we came to Uncle Lin's." She loosened the tie around her slim waist to make herself more comfortable. "I thought it would remind me of mom and dad while they are away in Japan, but..." Her voice trailed off. She normally slept in sleeping kimonos back in Japan. She always found them more effeminate and mature than a normal pajama set, like her little brother's light blue woolen one. She slid her arms protectively around the boy, absorbing the radiating heat from his frame and allowing her heavy eyelids to close.

Gene's bright blue eyes darted around the room, images of faces flashing before him, words of their thoughts trickling into his ears. He recognized some of them, his fiery redheaded godmother, his rather unconventional godfather, but their faces were so much younger and filled with worry. He shut his eyes, trying to focus on the frames which still sped before his eyes though shut. He tried timing his breathing to the rhythmic inhales and exhales of his sleeping sister at his back. The indecipherable syllables pounded against his eardrums, his stomach churned feeling the dread of those in his visions.

"Dad's tought me what to do in these situations." He calmed himself with the thought, wiping a way a tear that had already left a watery path down his face, a tear that was not his own, but of someone else in another time or place. He knew what he needed to do, eliminate the constants and decide what was causing his psychometric visions. It couldn't be his Uncle Lin's house, he had slept there countless times and in this very bed; not to mention his Uncle always had a proteticive ward about the house, so no "unwelcomed" visitors could penetrate the home. His sister mumbled something in her sleep and began tossing and turning. He rolled over, his eyes studying her face. Her long lashes fluttered against her cheeks, signaling that she was deep in sleep, but the pained expression on her porcelain face told him that it was not a desirable dream. He sat up, readying himself to wake his sister from the nightmares she so hated, and in doing so, he momentarily broke the physical contact he had with her and the visions stopped.

"Forgive me, nee-chan." He had determined the variable that must be causing his visions: the sleeping kimono. It was the only thing he could think of that was not a familiar object. He slipped his hand onto it and clutched the silky fabric, rubbing his fingers gently across its smooth surface. Again he saw the horrified expressions, this time in much more vibrance. Their shouts slowly became audible.

"Nau-Maku-San-Man-Da, Ba-" He heard the younger looking version of his godfather begin the Buddhist mantra to dispel an enemy. The syllables all familiar, not only from his studies and father's teachings, but because it was one of his sister's preferred methods of exorcism, since she had the ability to see and sense spirits, or "Yuurei" as his father had once distinguished.

"Stop it, Bou-san!" He heard his godmother shriek. Her voice lowering. "You could kill her." His godmother's eyes were stained red.

There was a figure in the distance, but he could not make out who it was. It kept wandering further away, out of his field of vision.

"Masako!" A voice cried.

His eyes shot open and he pulled his hand away from the fabric. "Masako?" He mused. "Why were they calling onee-chan's name?"

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**Author's Note:** So that's part one of the prologue! Please read and review! Reviews are always so helpful and constructive criticism is always welcomed as well. So for now, do you guys have any speculations about who the two children and are and who their parents might be? Part Two of the Prologue should be up soon, then on to the main story!


	2. Prologue: Part Two

**Author's Note:** Second Part to the Prologue and then on to the main event! Please review! Reviews are always so helpful in putting together a story that pleases readers and helps with writing the story! Also, if there are any typos or spelling errors, I apologize. I didnt' write this on my computer, and I had to use wordpad.

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own Ghost Hunt, or the characters in it. But I do own my original characters, so take that! :)

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**The Sealed File**

Prologue: Part Two

Gene shifted uncomfortable in the bed, trying to suppress the confusion from the images that had flooded his mind. He gingerly raised his hand, being extremely cautious as to not touch the sleeping kimono again and become locked in another world, and gently shook his sister. Another cold, menacing chill wafted through the room, causing the boy to shiver despite being clad in his woolen pajamas. His crystalline blue eyes sullenly observed the still sleeping girl, her name being tossed about in his head like a raft in a tumultous sea. _Why had they been calling for her?_ _Was she in some sort of danger?_ Afraid that leaving his sister asleep in a nightmare might cause her arm, he shook her more violently.

"Nee-chan," He called concernedly, his voice raising, "Please, wake up."

The girls thick lashes fluttered against her porcelain cheeks, slowly ebbing open to reveal a worrisome look in her navy eyes. A solitairy tear etched its way down the curvature of her cheek bones, dropping gently onto the pillow beneath her rested head.

"Genie?" She groggily rubbed her eyes, vaguely remembering the fact that she was mid-nightmare upon being woken. "What's wrong?"

The chestnut-haired boy inched closer to her, wondering if he should ask her about her dream. In most circumstances, she found them very uncomfortable to talk about. Just like his psychometric visions, his sister's dreams were not usually her own, but were spawned by other beings or emotions, near or far.

Hesitancy crept into the boy's voice, deep for a child of ten, as he began, "When I touched your sleeping kimono, I began..." His eyes swept over the soft, white silken fabric of the sleeping kimono again, taking note of the black dragonfly print scattered across.

"To see things?" She tossed the covers off of her slim frame and rose, walking towards the nearby bathroom.

She emerged quickly, now wearing a set of regular pink pajamas, the sleeping kimono folded in her hands. She gently placed it on the bed stand and began unbraiding her coveted long black hair, letting it fall loosly against the small of her back. Sitting back down on the bed, she drew her brother close to her, her hands gently caressing his face as she pulled him close. She hated the fact that her little brother, the person she cared for most dearly and wanted nothing more than to protect, had to deal with such unwanted visions. His psychic powers were much stronger than her own, and although hers had greatly progressed through the intense training of her father and Uncle Lin, her brother's natural abilities surpassed her own. Curiously, she never felt anything remotely close to jealous for his gifts, but rather concern, and sometimes dismay, as she wished she could take the burden from the young, innocent boy.

"I saw Aunt Ayako, er-- Ayako-neesan," He giggled, trying to make light of the situation. His spirited godmother hated any terminology that might deem her old, and she often insisted that the two siblings use -chan or -neesan when addressing her.

If psychometry was one of Gene's gifts, empathy was one of her own. She could tell through the giggle that the boy was the apprehensive and scared to convey what he had seen. "Genie, it's alright." She comforted. "You don't need to protect me, it's my job to protect you."

"Uncle Houshou was there too. And they were scared. I've never seen them look so terrified, even when returning from some of their most horrible cases. But they were younger, and..." He paused, uncertain of what to say.

"They were calling my name." She finished his sentence. They had been able to communicate telepathically since Gene was about five years old, but he was very apt at blocking his thoughts from her when he needed to. But when he was worried, his ability to concentrate on keeping his thoughts his own quickly dissipated.

Gene nodded slowly, his face cheeks growing rosy with shame. His body tremored slightly as the pictures of their faces made way back into his consciousness. His frightened grip around his sister grew painfully tighter. "Masako-neechan, I'm scared." He cried, holding onto her as if she would evaporate into thin air at any moment.

Masako felt her heart shatter into myriad shards of pain and grief as she continued to warmly embrace the quaking body of the boy. She rested her hands gently on his shoulders, guiding him back just enough so that she could make eye contact with him. "Well," She smiled, inching her fingers down to the boy's waist. "I can't exactly conjure a spirit here to tell us anything with all of Uncle Lin's wards, not to mention those overbearing shiki!" She began to tickle him.

The boy seized with fits of laughter, his limbs flailing violently through the air as his sister's fingers wiggled vigorously at his sides. He counterattacked, grabbing her foot and causing her to squeal. The relentless war of squirming and glee lasted until both children rolled off the bed with a thud, still laughing. They laid their momentarily, their chests heaving up and down trying to regain their breath from the tickle match.

Finally calm, she continued. "Well, Uncle Lin does have a copy of all of mom and dad's case files down in the study. Maybe we could find something there?" She cocked a mischievous eyebrow.

"But it's locked!"

"Since when has a lock ever stopped us?"

"But there are hundreds and hundreds of files!" He continued his plea, fearing the wrath of his normally stoic but very stern uncle. "Well, I guess I could use psychometry..."

"No!" She snapped, whipping her head around, her eyes beaming with gravity. "I don't want you to have flashes of those _things_," she hissed, "that have been encountered on cases. It's too much." She exhaled deeply, and gave Gene another quick hug, assuring him that she was only looking out for his best interest and not actually angry. "We'll just go with what we know. They looked younger, right? About how old?"

"Maybe in their late twenties? Oh! And Ayako-neesan called Uncle Houshou 'Bou-san'." He exclaimed, a bit proud of his recollection of the relevant details. He grabbed on to his sister's outstretched hand and was hastily pulled to his feet.

"Let's go," she whispered, making her way towards the door.

She braced the heavy oak door with one hand, cautiously turning the its brass knob so that it wouldn't croak upon opening. Her uncle was a notoriously light sleeper, when he slept at all, and there was no foolproof way of knowing if he was awake or not. The two siblings gingerly stepped outside the door to their room, gently closing it behind them. The study was located two floors below them in the large Victorian mansion, and due to its age, there were a lot of creaking steps to be conquered if they were to get to the study in victorious silence.

They tip-toed down the hallway, thankful that their uncle's room wasn't located somewhere between their own room and destination. They looked down at the foreboding planks of the wooden stairwell, a sense of excitement brewing up inside them. One by one, they discreetly made their way down each step, abruptly stopping when one loudly groaned under the weight of both siblings.

_"We can't step on them at the same time."_ Masako spoke inwardly, her thought resonanting inside Gene's mind. "_Let's try the banister. Wait for me to try first."_ She crawled onto the long rail, wrapping her legs around the curved wood and slowly slid down, her hands locking around each spoke as she went. Upon reaching the bottom, Gene followed.

The ornate double doors leading to the study were directly at the bottom of the stairwell, and as Gene had said, a keyhole was beneath one of the handles on the doors, glaring at them like a giant obstacle. The siblings instinctively reached out for each other's hands, ready to put to use the PK they practiced so often.

A soft blue glow irradiated from them, an invisible wind seemed to flow up from the ground, fluttering their clothing and hair. Masako felt a bit of power drain from her, transferring over to her brother; and suddenly, she heard the alleviating click of the lock. They released their grasp and walked through the now open door.

The study seemed ominous in the darkness without the wood burning fireplace to offer a comforting glow to the room. They flicked on a light, revealing the towering bookshelves that covered every wall from floor to ceiling of the octagonal room, a mobile ladder was attached to a pole above so that every book could be reached. Some were old and tattered, others were new and crisp, the titles in countless different languages. On a shelf that seemed more celebrated than the rest in its intricacy at the center of the room were the books written by their father.

"Uncle Lin's quite the reader," Masako sighed, turning to her brother. "And so are you!" She grinned.

"You're one to talk." He rolled his eyes jokingly, knowing full well that his sister had read the majority of the books in their uncle's study during their countless stays at his home in England. She even read some that were not written in Japanese or English as she spoke nearly six languages fluently now. He was close behind at five languages though, and currently studying Greek, an important language to know when dealing with paranormal subjects.

They made their way to the only shelves in the room that contained actual files as opposed to books.

Masako lifted her small finger, running it delicately across the edges of the compiled notes of countless cases. "You said that Ayako-chan called Uncle Houshou 'Bou-san,' correct? That must mean that whatever you saw, it happened while SPR was still under the disguise of Shibuya Psychic Resarch and not the Japanese branch of the Society for Psychical Research." She remarked, walking closer to where the files began. She knew her uncle was quite compulsive when it came to organizing, so the files must be in chronological order. "Should we start at the beginning?"

She reached up to pull out the first file, not noticing a chair to her side. By the time Gene realized what had happened, his sister was sprawled out on the floor with a mound of files and papers scattered across her and the Oriental rug. He snickered, bending down to help pick up the files.

"Gene, wait."

His actions were interuppted. Looking over at his sister quizzically, he noticed her gaze was falling intently on the now empty shelf, vacant from the strewn files.

"There's a fingerhole in the plank of the wood backing the shelf." Her eyes widened excitedly.

She quickly scammpered to her feet, pulling the false back from the shelf revealing an old, musty file, sealed with a paper ward. She hastily opened it, ripping the unnoticed ward in the process and began scanning through the pages. "This must have been hidden back there for years..." Her voice faded, engulfed in the treasure she had discovered.

Gene swallowed a nervous gulp, staring at the foreboding file. His stomach churned. There was no doubt about it. Whatever he saw, it must have been recorded in that file. Quickly, he snatched it from his sister, and before she could say a word in edgewise, he grabbed her with his free hand.

Images started to play again in Gene's mind. He gripped his sister's wrist tightly so that he could mentally convey the images to her. And then they fell into a trance, their minds travelling back through the years and across the great continent and sea, bringing them to Japan.

And so it began.

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**Author's Note:** Well, that's the end of the prologue. The next chapter begins the actual story of the events that were recorded in the sealed file. For those that are wondering, it won't be told from the normal perspective third person perspective as if the events are actually happening, just like any other story. And again, thanks to everyone who reviewed the first part of the prologue. I know these first two chapters were a bit tedious and uneventful, but the action begins in the next one. Please read and review :)


	3. Chapter One: The Seven Year Itch

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the long delay! I had a trapeze show and then got pretty sick after it for quite some time. Please review if you read. ;) Criticism is always welcome as well.

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own Ghost Hunt :(

**Chapter One: The Seven Year Itch**

Taniyama Mai restlessly drummed her fingertips on the armrest of her desk chair as she blankly watched a stream of dust particles dance to in fro in the last streaming rays of sunlight before dusk. She grabbed a stack of papers that was strewn carelessly across her desk, thumbing through the white sheets to find the chapter entitled 'Psychokinesis,' It was the rough draft of her boss' latest contribution to paranormal literature, _The Developmental Structure of Latent Psychic Abilities_. She had already read through the rather substantial pile that day since a certain someone had placed it there while claiming that it would be rather educational for her as well as a good combatant to her stupidity, something he made quite apparent he believed she had in abundance. Due to the unexpected arrival of a client, she had done exactly so, twice, finding the work more excruciating with each passing sentence as it seemed to be a bit more like her own biography than a work of science. Frustrated, she tossed the papers onto a stack of files at the side of her rather large oak desk and opened her mouth to sigh only to find herself coughing instead, certain she had inhaled a good amount of those blasted ballerina dustmites. Her office at Shibuya Psychic Research wasn't exactly the cleanest place around. As Masako had once put it, a rat would be ashamed to have to live in such a dirty, disorganized locale, but since it was her own private office, not visited by the business' clientelle, her likelihood to clean it carried roughly the same odds as Naru wearing pink.

The door to Mai's office creaked open after a light knock. "Mai-san, are you okay? I heard you coughing. If you'd like, I'd be more than happy to rub your..."

"Can it!" Mai had already sized up the young male assailant. Although she couldn't see his eyes due to the eerie glow of the light reflecting off his spectacles, the menacing smirk creeping across his face was a tell-tale sign that his gesture would not be one of sincerity. If he wanted to play hardball, she wasn't going to back down.

"Yasuhara, tea." She ordered, stifling her giggle until the door clicked shut behind the dispirited assistant. After all, he had no right to refuse her these days.

Mai picked up the only thing she kept tidy in her office, a shiny gold plaque positioned at the front of her desk and ran her fingers over the engraving of her name and position; the proud display was a gift given to her by the SPR crew upon her promotion last month. The business had grown considerably since Mai had first taken on a job as a part-time assistant approximately seven years prior. Ayako and Bou-san were now both steady employees and served as fulltime case managers within the office along with their services as exorcists and spiritualists onsite during cases. Mai herself was promoted to Assistant Director much to the surprise and bewilderment of her fellow employees. However, her now even more handsome boss of many names reasoned it quite well; Mai had been an employee of SPR longer than anyone else, not inclusive of Lin, since he was really more of an acting guardian than an employee, making her the most familiar with the internal workings of the ghost hunting company. But the main reason rested upon Mai's extroverted yet sensitive personality that consistently kept their tumultuous clients at ease.

The door clicked open again and Yasuhara placed two steaming cups on top of Mai's desk, plopping down into a seat across from her and swinging his feet up to rest beside the cup. A moment of silence passed over the duo as their own thoughts and concerns ebbed at their consciousness.

Mai gazed at her reflection in the hot brown liquid. Her hair was much longer now, falling midway down her back, and the passing time had made her cheek bones more defined. Slowly she had transformed from an adolescent tomboy into what any man with two working eyes would describe as a beautiful, attractive young woman. Yes, she still lacked a certain amount of poise, but sitting in her chair right now wearing her crisp, pressed white button down shirt and black slacks, no one would ever guess that a tiny bit of a klutz was concealed beneath the professional facade.

"How are things with Michiru?" Mai took a sip of her tea, decidedly breaking the silence. She also needed a bit of a distraction to keep her mind from wandering back to who precisely the mysterious client was in her boss' office.

Yasuhara hesitantly fiddled with his cup, spinning it back and forth, and sighed contemplatively. A twinge of pain was present in his voice as he began to speak. "Not so good. With medical school and working here part-time, we barely have enough free time to see each other." He paused, shifting in his chair as if an invisible weight was pressing him against the black leather. "And when we get a case, it's even worse because of the additional research and periodic _demands_ that I remain at the case site."

While Yasuhara still enjoyed his time at SPR, his duties were no longer the carefree hobby he once thought of them to be, and they became more burdensome when he began dating Mai's old high school friend Michiru. While Tokyo University had given him a full scholarship for his initial studies, when he decided to transfer into the medical department, the scholarship was not enough to cover his entire tuition, not to mention personal expenses. Mai's promotion was perfect timing for him, as he could take over her old position as an assistant and also receive an extra salary for his research and overtime pay during cases. His salary at SPR was by no means chump change for a part-time job, but due to its notorious narcissistic director, part-time was really more like full-time, perhaps even more than that.

Mai nodded absent mindedly, adding "I'm sure it will work out just fine" with a reassuring smile. But to her dismay, her thoughts kept wandering to that elusive client in the next office chatting with the head of SPR.

"So have you seen the client?" Mai's eyes lit up with curiosity. Her boss didn't even allow her to greet the client at the door or give him a screening process and had even ordered Yasuhara into Mai's office prior to his or her arrival.

Yasuhara sighed and shook his head. _How can she still be so interested in these cases after so many years?_ Although, he did have to admit, something was a bit unusual about this one. He hadn't been called to be asked for even the slightest bit of background research even once. And unlike the usual short meetings with clients, this client had been speaking directly with the head of SPR for hours now. "But he must be important if Naru didn't even have you screen the client before actually allowing whoever it is to speak with him."

Mai had unsuccessfully tried everything she could think of to find out even the tiniest piece of information about the client of case. Lin was out of the office that day purchasing some new equipment for SPR. Her one attempt to eavesdrop resulted in her boss, Naru, barking a stern "no" into her mind telepathically, and his mind was not one that she could easily read so it was pointless to even try. And she was feeling no psychic impressions from whoever the client was either, meaning there was either some sort of ward about or the client was also a rather powerful psychic.

After Naru had returned to Japan upon laying his brother to rest so many years ago, a reporter had uncovered a great deal of the secrets that shrouded the SPR boss in the first year Mai had worked there, specifically that the head of the organization was one Oliver Davis, a powerful, world-reknowned psycic. It resulted in a great surge in popularity for SPR and they were receiving numerous case requests daily, so Naru had put a screening process into affect to both quickly dismiss fraudulent claims and to hone Mai's abilities through constant use even while off cases. Although the original chaos had died down due to some keenly placed false publicity stating that Oliver Davis was in fact a middle-aged professor comfortably residing in England fulltime and had never even visited Japan, SPR's 100 success ratio still caused quite the flood of incoming clients.

A click resounded through the silent office, the familiar noise tearing both Mai and Yasuhara from their world of thoughts. Naru's office door had opened, but before either snoop could get scurry out of their chairs and reach the door, the sound of the main SPR office door shutting also closed any possibilities of insight. Without a knock, the door to Mai's office opened.

Mai's gaze drifted upwards to meet the gorgeous sapphire blue orbs she had been infatuated with for too long to exactly remember. Naru stood there stoicly in his all black attire, as per usual, but something about his aura seemed different. Mai narrowed her gaze in scrutiny, desperately trying to determine the cause of the uneasiness she felt while looking at her boss.

"Naru..." The syllables floated from her lips without even realizing they were audible, "are you confused?"

Yasuhara stifled his laughter as Naru shot Mai a gaze that would put Medusa to shame. "Make the relevant phone calls and inform everyone that we have a very important case. They should be here by 7:00 a.m. ready to depart and bring atleast two weeks worth of attire and neccessities. Then you are dismissed for the day." He abruptly shut the door behind him.

Mai's jaw dropped. Two weeks? Wasn't that a bit long for a case?

Yasuhara chuckled lightly and gave Mai a sympathetic pat on the head, before hearing Naru's voice echo through the door "Yasuhara, I would like you to accompany us on this case as well."

Mai and Yasuhara both gave each other a quizzical and exasperated shrug as the latter made his way towards the door. Mai picked up the phone, thoughts of who this mysterious client could be bouncing about in her head.

--

"I'm back!" Mai called out through the apartment as she slipped off the sneakers she had changed into for her walk home. The clanging of pots and pans resounded from the kitchen of the 2DKL (A/N: an apartment with two bedrooms, a kitchen, and living room). Her new home was something she was very grateful for, it was a far cry from the old 6 tatami mat apartment (A/N: about 9 square meters) she used to live in. There, she didn't even have a bath of her own, forcing her to use a local common bath house, let alone a kitchen.

The pitter patter of footsteps were quickly approaching Mai, as she widened her smile to greet her roommate. The electric overhead lighting bounced off the girl's bright golden hair, its dyed layers falling neatly slightly below the shoulders of her thin, petite frame. A few grains of rice were stuck to the porcelain skin below her dark blue eyes. Mai chuckled. If you had told Mai when she had first met her current roommate that they would become best friends and live together, she would have undoubtedly released a violent, pain-inflicting foot stomp, but after a heart to heart and the passing of time, she had really come to love the complex character of her benevolent friend.

"Dinner is almost ready." She chirped, grabbing Mai's hand and pulling her towards the kitchen.

Mai easily freed her hand from the grasp of the delicate fingers but followed the girl in pace towards the kitchen, still giggling from the unnoticed sticky rice that she now realized was also scattered about in the strands of blonde hair. A flash of the girl's old demeanor crossed Mai's mind and she clenched her stomach, buckling over in laughter.

The girl turned around. "What's so funny, Mai?" She lightly stomped her foot, an unconscious habit she had picked up from being in Mai's company so often.

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Mai waved her hand dismissively. "There's just some... rice..." Mai pointed, and choked up in laughter again.

The flustered girl quickly rubbed her hands across her face, swatting the stray grains of rice onto the wooden floor. "Now can we go finish cooking? I finally bought some fresh food to last us the week, and we needn't be wasteful."

Slowly, Mai's laughter diminished and Naru's reminder to convey the case chimed back into her head. "We're going to have to be wasteful." She sighed, slightly annoyed at the prospect of a long night of packing. "There's a new case. Everyone needs to meet in the office tomorrow morning by 7. I don't know why that damned narcissist picked such an early time." She huffed. "But whatever the case is, it must be important. Naru wouldn't even met me meet the client!"

Just describing the situation made Mai feel exhausted, so she plopped herself down on the nearby love seat, collapsing backwards to stare at the ceiling. The exasperated sigh of her roommate reached her ear, and she promptly propped herself up backwards onto her elbows to make eye contact with the girl. "We have a lot of packing to do, Masako."

--

END CHAPTER ONE

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**Author's Note: **Before anyone asks... yes, this is Hara Masako as Mai's roommate. Why she is so different now will be revealed . A lot of things can happen in 7 years, no? Please review! I love them :) and they can only make a story better. The title for Chapter Two is simply The Case.


	4. Chapter Two: Departures

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone that reviewed!! I'm trying to respond to everyone who reviewed through PM. Let me know if you don't want to be responded too. And thanks to everyone that also offered their insight on what they think is happening so far. It really helps to let me know if I am getting hints across or not, etc. Also, I usually put up previews of the next chapter in my profile as well as the target date for their posting. Sometimes my target date is a little off and chapters will be posted slightly earlier or later, but they are usually about right.

Also, I usually don't use Japanese words... but I did use one, since it didn't work as well in English. **Omiai is an arranged marriage meeting in Japanese.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt, only my original characters and story concept :P hehe**

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**Chapter Two: Departures**

_Day One._

_7:13 A.M._

"First class, eh?" Bou-sam smirked, eyeing the extra large seats of the priority car of the Shinkansen before slouching comfortably in his cushioned chair next to Ayako.

"If it wasn't First class, I wouldn't even dare to ride on this." Ayako replied smugly, adjusting the wrinkles in her black, high-waisted skirt.

"Yes, yes, Princess. Only the best for you and your vanity." Bou-san rolled his eyes before feeling the familiar pain of being whacked on the head by Ayako. He opened his mouth, readying words of retaliation, but his eye caught the shimmer of the obnoxiously large diamond on the 29 year-old's slender left ring finger. He quickly looked over to Naru to change the topic of conversation before any sign of disappointment over the sight of Ayako's engagement ring could show in his eyes. "Naru-bou, how's the equipment arriving? Kyoto is a pretty long way from Tokyo."

"Yasuhara-san and Lin left before us this morning in the van." Naru responded curtly, burying his nose in the case file. "The equipment is far too expensive to entrust to whimsical individuals such as..."

Mai huffed, overhearing the brief murmurs of her boss taking place in the seat in front of her. Fortunately, for Mai, she could ensure Naru had a bumpy ride if he continued with his holier-than-thou-art banterings. She discreetly kicked the back of his chair rather hard, hearing the shuffle of papers hitting the floor. "Oh, sorry, Naru!" She beamed. "My foot slipped. Did you drop your file? I'm so sorry." She sarcastically rolled her almond eyes.

Across the aisle, she caught a glimpse of Madoka stifling a giggle, diverting her attention to the busy landing outside the window of the parked bullet train at the Tokyo station. Next to her, John had his hands politely folded in his lap, his eyes closed in what seemed like prayer.

"He's still as narcissistic as ever." Mai whispered to Masako, who was seated beside her next to the window.

Masako laughed. "I can't believe I ever used to be fond of such an egomaniac as him."

The sound of the two girls laughing was drowned out by the roar of the Shinkansen's engines pulling them into vast acceleration out of the Tokyo station. The express Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto would have them at their destination around noon, after a trip of slightly longer than three hours.

Naru still had not divulged the actual location of the case yet, other than that it would be taking place in Kyoto; and the client was still unknown to the entire group. For the most part, all of SPR was used to Naru's secretive antics. After all, he had kept his true identity hidden from them for over a year and had even kept the objectives of cases in the dark from the entire group, like when they were investigating that horrible maze of a mansion belonging to the former Prime Minister, Urado's resting place. Masako had nearly lost her life in an investigation that was not even aimed at uncovering the mystery behind the paranormal activities of the antiquated residence, but rather discovering the identity of the fraudulent Oliver Davis. It was around that time that Masako's feelings for Naru had slowly begun to wane ever so slightly. But it would be an abrupt statement much later that had almost led her to hate the man she once was infatuated with.

The early morning and the hum of the train soon lulled most of SPR's employees to sleep, leaving only Naru and Mai awake. Mai flipped through the pages of one of Naru's books, published previous to his initial arrival in Japan. The subject matter didn't interest Mai greatly, but by reading Naru's words, she felt like she understood him a bit more. Glimpsing into the scientific side of Naru's mind was better than nothing in Mai's opinion. Even though they had been working together for so long and in such close proximity, the moments he opened up to her on an emotional level were few and far between. It seemed like Mai constantly made and remade resolutions to give up on her quest for the return of Naru's affections, but every time another man paid her any heed, her mind would wander back to her black-clad mysterious boss. For a 23 year-old graduate of the prestigious Keio University, Mai had very little knowledge in the subject matter of love, unless you count that of unrequited love, in which, she bregrudginly had plenty of experience. As the minutes dragged on, Mai stood from her seat to ease her cramping legs, her eyes drifting to the sapphire blue peaking out from behind the thick black fringe of Naru's hair. She stretched her arms, eyes unmoving.

"Are you going to continue staring at me?" Naru snapped the file closed, his eyes darting to Mai.

Mai felt the familiar flush spread over her face that happened every time she was caught lost in a trance gazing at her unrequited love. It was something she could never quite get used to, and, unlike Naru, she had a very poor poker face. "My eyes are free to wander where they please." She replied, glaring at him intensely.

"Sit."

The abruptness of the word startled Mai, and she slowly sat back down into her own seat racked with confusion.

"Not there. Here."

Mai shot to her feet, seeing Naru motion towards the empty chair beside him. As her legs brushed his as she shuffled in to the window seat, heat rose to her cheeks again.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Naru?" The words were tentative and cautious. Mai bit her bottom lip, a nervous habit she developed during her preparations for University Entrance Exams. Another thing she owed to Naru, without his help and tutoring, she would have been lucky to get into any college, let alone Keio.

"Mai." The deep navy blue of his eyes met her own, her heart fluttering uncontrollably in her chest. There was a sincerity in the glint of his eyes and almost a bit of trepidation.

Although the silence was brief, Mai could bear it no longer. "Yes!" She blurted out, breaking the gaze between them. "I mean, of course, it's something I've been thinking about since I started working for you!"

If Naru was one to show emotions, he would have chuckled. Instead his eyes slightly widened. "You've been wanting to lead a team for that long?" He cocked his head nonchalantly, fully aware of the embarrassing situation his Assistant Director found herself in. Mai always had the habit of digging her own grave, but then again, many people do. However Mai was one of the few people that Naru had ever met that would also pour the dirt and bury herself in it too.

Mai swiftly turned her head to look out the window, her auburn hair wipping Naru's cheeks as quickly as the scenery passed by the train's windows. Another moment of silence passed between them. Mai watched as the cityscape of Tokyo disappeared and Mt. Fuji came into view over the horizon.

Naru picked up his folder and opened it, scanning the contents. "There is a chance that we might need to investigate two distinct locations while we are in Kyoto."

Mai inhaled deeply, choking a little bit on the excess air that was meant to calm her. "We have two requests in Kyoto?"

"No. But my instincts tell me that our client's concerns might be linked with another place with peculiar similarities."

Mai turned to face Naru, remembering the secrecy lingering about this ambiguous client whose identity had not yet been revealed to her nor any other member of the SPR team as far as she knew. "And who is this client anyway?" She demanded.

"I believe that wasn't the subject we were speaking about, Mai." The raven-haired man remained unaffected. "I simply want to know if you feel you are ready to lead a team if it is deemed necessary that we split into different locations."

Mai's primal instincts were urging her to snap a quick 'yes' back to her employer, but she curbed her tongue. If she were to lead part of a team, that would mean being separated from Naru, and it wasn't exactly a little known fact that she often found herself in precarious situations during cases and that Naru was usually the one to fly to her rescue. Yes, her latent psychic abilities had lost their latency over the years, but she had never forgotten the times when Naru had wound up in the hospital for overexerting himself by releasing his Qi and using his own powers. So far, she hadn't experienced any such calamities when using psychokinesis or other skills, but the possibility was always there, wasn't it? In her nervousness, all Mai could stammer out was "But in past circumstances, Bou-san has always stepped in to fill your role if it was needed. Wouldn't he be a better choice than me?"

Naru slightly nodded his head towards the pair of seats where Bou-san and Ayako were sleeping. Mai's directed her vision likewise, only to feel blinded by a ray of light that bounced off the rather gigantic diamond ring securely placed on her finger. Words didn't need to be exchanged between Naru and Mai to understand the situation. Ever since Ayako's choice to proceed with the omiai, Bou-san had not quite been his cheerful self, more of just a shell of his former jovial persona; something, amazingly enough, Ayako seemed completely oblivious to as she was busy making final arrangements for her wedding ceremony.

Mai sighed sympathetically, pondering how Ayako never took notice of the man that was always there protecting her all along, She wanted to get out of her seat then and there and give her beloved friend a hug and let him cry on her shoulder. But not once did he say one word to discourage Ayako. Instead, he buried himself in his music while not working at SPR. He was taking progressively longer breaks from being in the office, claiming he was busy in the studio working on an album or preparing for a show. But one snowy day when Bou-san was supposedly busy in the studio, Mai spotted him in alone in a coffee shop nearby the SPR office with gloom written all over his face.

"If you've paid any attention to my book at all, Mai, you would know that the mood and state of mind of a psychic can greatly affect their powers. In worst case scenarios, their abilities could be rendered completely useless until the cause of the stress is relieved." Naru stated matter-of-factly. "And please remember, you are the Associate Director of Shibuya Psychic Research, and that title comes with responsibilities and not just a nameplate."

Mai cringed at the familiar feeling of being backed into a corner by one, Oliver Davis, also known as Naru the narcissist. "I suppose I have no choice then." She rose to her feet, smoothing out her skirt. "Now if you'll excuse me." She slid by him, but this time, those primal urgers of running her mouth got the best of her. "You should take sometime to examine the window, Naru-_chan_" She emphasized the dainty little suffix added to his nickname. "With the way the sun is shining in, you can see a perfect reflection of yourself. I'm sure you will find that most pleasing."

"Stupid narcissist." She muttered under her breath, plopping back into her seat beside the slumbering Masako.

A few minutes passed and the lull of sound of the train began to make Mai rather groggy. Her eyelids heavy, she let them slide shut and fell into a world of dreams.

--

Author's Note: Two things... the first being, I know this chapter didn't have a lot of action... the case will start at the end of the next chapter. Since my story takes places about seven years after Mai joined SPR, I think the characters sort of need to be re-introduced a bit so you know how they have changed. Most of this will happen over the course of the story, but I didn't want to jump into a "Severn Years Later" case without anyone knowing what kind of situation the characters are in!

Second, I know I haven't updated in an extremely long time. Things have been pretty chaotic, but updates should be regular (weekly) from now on. This chapter is actually much longer, but since I don't know everyone's preferences on how long they like chapters to be, I posted just the first part of it. So please review and let me know this...

**What do you prefer...**

**Shorter chapters posted more frequently (say around 1000 - 2500 words, more than once a week)**

**OR**

**Longer chapters posted less frequently (2500+ word posted every week or every other week)**

Please let me know, since I'd like to keep the story as enjoyable for the readers as possible!!


	5. Chapter Three: A Part Best Forgotten

**Author's Note:** Here's the next chapter! Please review, even if it's just one word. :)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt in any way, shape, or form.** :(

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**Chapter Three: A Past Best Forgotten**

_Day One._

_8:58 A.M._

Mai squinted as her eyes met the unusually bright blue sky above her, so different from even the sunniest of days in Tokyo. No buildings blocked the horizon and the air wasn't tainted by the smog of a city. She fell into a momentary lull as her she felt the rays of the sun warming her skin then snapped to her feet. When had she gotten off the train? She looked down and gasped, seeing nothing but hunter green treetops below her; but as she realized she wasn't falling, it registered that she was dreaming again.

"Gene?" She called, looking around for her ever-present spirit guide. Despite the mystery of his death being solved and his body properly buried, he had never passed on into whatever other life or realm waited him. Mai often questioned him while they were alone together in her dreams why he hadn't left, but he seemed as clueless to the reason why as Mai herself. The idea of Gene's spirit remaining had nagged Naru for quite a long time after he had returned to Japan, causing his mood to become more sour than it had been before if such a thing were possible. Once in desperation, he had asked Masako to channel Gene's spirit, but nothing was accomplished in the attempt. Gene never came. Sometimes Mai wondered if Gene really had passed on and it was just her imagination projecting his image in the astral plane, but the feeling of his unique presence was undeniable.

Gene was nowhere to be found. This confused Mai as she took in her surroundings more. She was floating above a small mountain, a stream flowing from it that forked into three as it wound its way to a wooden structure far below her. Everything seemed far too vivid to be a normal dream, but Gene was also not there. Her mind wavered while contemplating if this was astral travel at all or just anxiousness over the unknown destination of their case.

Suddenly, a scream echoed through the treetops, bouncing off the hills and piercing Mai's ears. She jolted upwards, finding herself back in her seat on the train.

"Mai?" Masako reached her hand to rest on Mai's quivering arm. "Are you alright?"

Mai inhaled deeply, calming her racing heart. Why did that scream feel so familiar. "Fine, fine.' She assured. "Just a dream." She bit her lip as soon as the sentence came out of her mouth, but why should she hide anything from Masako?

"Anything..." Masako eyed her inquisitively.

Mai shook her head. The rest of Masako's sentence wasn't needed for Mai to grasp the meaning.

The seat in front of Mai's moved ever so slightly. Mai sighed. Naru had been listening no doubt. "We should go back to sleep. We'll probably need it once we get to wherever we're going, since Naru will undoubtedly treat us like slaves when we get there." She said the last part a bit loudly for Naru's eavesdropping benefit, perhaps a bit too loudly as a two high school students ambling down the aisle shot a look in her direction. "Honestly, Masako." Mai smiled, settling back into her seat.

"Masako?" A male voice said quietly. "I told you it was that fraud ghost girl."

Mai eyed the speaker carefully. The voice came from the same two students. On closer inspection, they looked like the typical high school deliquents Mai had seen on the countless cases SPR had taken at various schools. She cringed and grabbed Masako's hand protectively.

"Hey, you." The other shot his voice contemptuously at Masako. "You hate your country so much you have to pretend like your some foreigner? You can't expect to sucker so many people and think you can just get away with your shit by dying your hair blonde."

Both boys snickered as Masako did nothing but bow her head and try to hide her face in the hair they just mocked.

"Both of you!:" Mai shot to her feet. "Mind your own business!"

The yelling continued as if Mai had never said a word. "You know, you helped," he spat the word out like a violent curse, "my grandmother contact her husband after he passed. Good thing you were proved to be a little money leech of a fake or she would be rolling over in her grave not knowing what kind of sick anti-Japanese liar had dishonored her husband's spirit." He shoved Mai to the side, raising his hand dangerously above the still cowering Masako.

"Excuse me." Naru grabbed the boy's risen hand. "This is the first class section. If you do not have a seat here, I would suggest you proceed to the section you are seated in before you disturb anyone else."

A look of incredulity spread across the perpetrator's face as he turned to see who had hold of his wrist. He furrowed his brows, half confused and half furious. "You! You're the one who discredited the wretch!"

The shouting now had woken the rest of the SPR team, most of which were still too groggy to register the confrontation going on before them, but John was getting to his feet. A flash of anger coursed through his body, an emotion he was not very familiar with.

"You are waking the other passengers. You should be on your way before I have the police meet you at the station in Kyoto."

The teen's hand relaxed and dropped to his side. Mai chanced a glance over his shoulder to look at Naru, and it only took her a second to realize that it was the glare coming from the navy eyes that had made the boy back down like a wounded animal and not his words.

"Let's get out of here." He said to his companion, and the two boys dashed out the train car as quickly as the compartment door would open.

Mai smiled a meek 'thank you' to Naru before wrapping her arms around Masako's tiny frame. Her racking sobs shook Mai as well, but somehow, Masako managed to keep her crying silent. John cautiously approached and rested his hand over Masako's own in a comforting gesture. It had been quite some time since Masako needed to control her composure; it was something that was never necessary out of the spotlight while living together with Mai. She could always be herself with Mai now.

Mai squeezed Masako even more tightly in her arms, mentally kicking herself for letting her guard of Masako relax. Just because time had passed since the incident didn't mean that all of the public had forgotten. But why couldn't they? It had been so long since that ridiculous scandal! The media had been so relentless that they had practically chased Masako out of the country, luckily John had needed to return to Australia for awhile and was able to bring Masako with him for a brief respite from the onslaught. The only positive outcome of the situation was that she had gone from friends and coworkers to best friends and roommates with Masako after the situation.

Masako had never stopped blaming Naru for the calamity even though she had forgiven him. Her own celebrity combined with the sudden celebrity of SPR in general when Naru was found out to be the reknowned Oliver Davis had caused their group to be tailed by the media, not even just reporters with paranormal magazines and the like, but the mass media in general since "unexplained" incidents had been on the rise. SPR had received a request to investigate an old Japanese military facility, and the sensitive nature of the surroundings had caused Lin to be a bit more vocal for his distaste of the Japanese. Naru had sent Lin and Masako out to gather some data during Mai's break, and while they wandered the grounds, part of their conversation had been recorded by an underpaid staff writer for a magazine that published paranormal photos looking for a fat paycheck. A few edits to the material and an expose leaked to a major media outlet had turned Masako from Japan's darling media medium helping the departed into a dangerous evil who held nothing but anti-Japanese sentiments. Before all of SPR could even convene to discuss the matter, Naru, using his persona of Oliver Davis, had given an interview to the reporters swarming the SPR office where Masako had been trying to hide. In one sentence he had denounced Masako's abilities as fraudulent, discredited her former work, and painted her as just another money-making project for her agency and the station that aired her program. Shortly after that, that greedy writer retracted his article, stating that his personal dislike for Hara Masako's subterfuge led him to embellish his statements of her personal views and that he had doctored the recording.

Naru's actions nearly caused a war to break out among the small group of SPR employees during the immediate aftermath, but eventually one by one they came to understand his reasoning. Naru had, in a cruel way, protected Masako. Her previous clients and people in general would feel much more comfortable with the idea that Masako was a fraud rather than believing a medium had communicated with their loved one, but that medium was malevolent. It would only take one overly superstitious person to try to harm Masako if that were true, but on the other hand, psychics were often proved to be nothing more than glorified illusionists. Even so, the pain Masako had to bear was great, and the life she had known disappeared so quickly like sand running through her hands. She was left alone, her parents, both famous themselves, didn't want her associated with their name any longer.

Mai often wondered if this was the reason her bond with Masako had grown so deep. In a way, they both were orphans now; Mai physically and Masako in spirit. Each could empathize with the other. However unlike Mai, Masako had a pretty hefty amount of money to live off after her abandonment.

The rest of the train ride dragged by. After some time, John reluctantly returned to his seat after Masako assured him she would be okay, even though a hesitant tear would still slide down her spotty red complexion from time to time. Eventually, the tears stopped altogether and Mai took Masako to the bathroom to make her presentable for meeting the prospective client. Ayako gushed over the phone to her fiance; and almost immediately after the call was received, Bou-san claimed his legs were aching and he needed to stroll the train. Madoka had tried getting information out of Naru about the case, but since she was no longer his superior in any substantial way, he didn't budge.

After the announcement announced over the audiosystem that the train was now arriving in Kyoto, Naru rose to his feet and cleared his throat, catching the attention of every member of SPR immediately.

"The case we are investigating will be taking place at Kiyomizu-dera."

Gasps escaped numerous mouths simultaneously.

"But that's a temple!" Ayako protested, her mouth agape. "What could possibly..."

"Cause a disturbance or haunt sacred ground?" Bou-san finished her sentence before she could finish. He furrowed his brows, deep in concentration.

"Maybe it's nothing." Madoka interjected light-heartedly. "A ground subsidence."

"Or a prank." Ayako chimed in again. When SPR became more well-known, several of their cases had wound up being well-played pranks. She now seemed to blame pranks for things even more than earth spirits.

"Or it could be something more serious than anything we've ever dealt with before."

A flash of Urado's mansion ran through Mai's mind quickly and she shuddered. Her eyes desperately looked to Naru for some sort of answer.

He stood with complete stoicism, but for a the shortest of split-seconds, Mai could have sworn she saw a flash of fear shoot through the navy orbs.

"It's something worse." She whispered gravely for only herself to hear.

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**Author's Note:** Please review! Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed so far, it really means a lot! This chapter was originally supposed to be a part of the previous chapter, since it was still the train ride. The upcoming chapters will be longer and split in better places. New chapter will be up soon, because I really want to get into the case part of it ;)


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